Mice repellant

[Dennisfly]

When I lifted the hood to check the oil, I saw the southend of a northbound mouse scamper out of the engine. I have heard a story of a mouse chewing through wire insulation and causing a fire. Any ideas on how to repel them. I park in a field. I was thinking maybe mothballs!

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I was thinking maybe mothballs! )</font>

Dennis, I don't know; maybe mothballs will work for mice, but my brother had a problem with squirrels getting inside the rear end of his motorhome where they chewed up the wiring to his backup camera twice. Someone told him mothballs would keep them out, so he put a lot of mothballs in there. The squirrels carried all the mothballs out and dropped them in a pile on the ground under the back end of the motorhome. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Theowegian]

Howdy.

I have a few ideas.

Once in a previous "life" I worked for a pest control company. We used dozens and dozens of these "Ketch all mousetraps". They work really well.

Ketch all mouse traps

The neat thing is that they catch multiple amounts of mice 24 hours a day. They are tin metal traps that you just wind up and put them on the ground around your tractor. My guess, is that 6-10 of them strategically places around your tractor would work fine.

Cost is about $15 each. But you'll own them forever, if you dont run over them!


If you're "cheap" then here's another idea. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Just take several 1 x 4" pine boards, maybe 1 to 3 ft long and tack nail on about a dozen or more old fashioned Victor snapper mouse traps. Put peanut butter on each trigger and set them. Each morning, just pick up the boards from around your tractor and go to work. Remember those mice dont "fly" up on your tractor. They climb from the ground up the wheels or front end loader, so place the traps near the climbing points.

Reset the little snappers in the evening when you park the tractor. Also, the snapping action of a trap can trigger the other snappers, so maybe you only put one or two on each board, depending on the sensitivity of the snapper. The idea, is just to isolate the trap from the grass so you can find it and pick it up to reset.

It'll work. You'll be amazed at how many you will catch, but eventually, you'll clean out the field populations and get very few. That is what you want!

Last note, if other big vermin are getting in there and snapping the traps, then make some kind of cover so the cats or whoever cant disturb them. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
Cardboard boxes work good.

good luck! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif and please post back messages if it works or doesnt work for you!
dwight

 

[slowrev]

If you have AC power around the electronic rodent repellers work pretty nice. I put them in my shop buildings and house and have not seen any evidence of mice since. Probably will work with squirells too, since they are rodents.

 

[JRobyn]

Since mine is parked out "in the woods" under a "Costco Carport" I've had mouse problems too. Tried both mothballs and mouse poison. They didn't mind the mothballs enough to keep them from eating all of the poison! I still have at least one that likes to nest under the fuel tank on the clutch side, but last time I started up, the fan evidently got him! For now I'm going with leaving a box of poison on top of the engine.

 

[Rip]

Mothballs might discourage mice early in the season when they are just looking for good nesting spots, but may not do much once they have established a nest site.

Enclosing several mothballs in a number of nylon sachets made from old stockings and tying them to wires can prevent them from being removed from the locations. You will have to replace them every year or so.

Mothballs are usually not enough to seriously discourage rats and squirrels however, and they can chew some serious wire!

Rip

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Why not just stick a cat under the hood?

I'd suspect you'd want to remove him just before starting up the tractor. But I also suspect that any mouse silly enough to crawl up there when a cat is present will find a very disgruntled cat who is just itching to do take out his aggression on something small and furry.

 

[SPIKER]

I like BOB's Idea!

one cat can make a lot of mice unhappy. at least mine does, she gets them all the time, and lately she usually comes form the far back barn cause all the close up ones are already passed through the cat at least once. I have traps set and I still catch moles every now and again but so does she, cause she leaves them lay after catching em, myst taste bad or something! lol /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Mark M

 

[Junkman]

I used a 5 gallon pail with some peanut butter smeared on the inside lower edge. Then I put about 4" of water in the bottom of the pail. Made a ramp to the top of the pail for the mice to climb up on. The mice would dive into the pail trying to get to the peanut butter and would drown in the water. I have mixed emotions about this method, but at the time, it was effective. Now I use bate boxes and poison only when the mice are a problem in the house. I let nature deal with the outside mice. The local snake population seem to deal with them well, so it is only in the winter that they come around and the poison gets them in the garage before they come inside.

 

[Cliff_Johns]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( They didn't mind the mothballs enough to keep them from eating all of the poison! I still have at least one that likes to nest under the fuel tank on the clutch side, but last time I started up, the fan evidently got him! For now I'm going with leaving a box of poison on top of the engine. )</font>

I always worry about poisoning mice outside. It poisons the hawks and the owls right along with them and maybe some cats or dogs. And whatever you do, don't poison mice in the house, because they will go in the walls and die later, then stink up the place and generate a whole herd of flies.

Cliff